


Unexpected

by EmmaTheRevelator (BadWolf1988)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Contemporary Romance, F/M, Family, Romance, past drug abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-10 08:41:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolf1988/pseuds/EmmaTheRevelator
Summary: Prudence was running from the pain of her past. Cal, the only bright spot from that past, wants to ignite the spark that never was but always should have been.





	1. V.I.P.

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank my beta reader, Meghan (Christlove88) for editing this story.

Prudence took a deep breath as she took a peek around the curtain to see the size of the crowd. Every seat in the _Charlotte Motor Speedway_ stands was occupied. Fuck. Word must have gotten out that she would be performing before the Bank of _America 500_. Her manager, Jill, had sworn that it would be kept a secret until the last minute.

Prudence hadn't performed in her hometown of Concord, North Carolina since launching her singing career six years earlier. This was to be her homecoming show... and she was terrified. She hadn't been back to North Carolina since she had broken up with her (ex) fiancé, Miles, and estranged herself from most of her drama-filled, emotionally abusive family. There were thousands of fans in the stands and any number of ghosts from her past could be amongst them.

The music to her first song started to play and the curtain rose. Swallowing her fear, she made her way to the microphone and started to sing. She held it together for most of the song and tried not to focus too much on the crowd but as she sang the last verse... she saw him.

He was in the V.I.P. crowd that was allowed to gather at the foot of the stage. When his dark gray eyes locked on her brown ones, he smiled at her, displaying his dimples, and gave her the okay hand sign to show her that he was impressed with the show.

Prudence's bravery was slowing starting to seep away. Her next song was a cover of a ‘Sons of the Desert’ song that pretty accurately described the way she felt about him... that's why she had chosen to sing it.... she just hadn't expected him to actually be there. How the hell did he afford V.I.P. tickets anyway? The last time she had seen him he was going to college at night and working as a mechanic during the day. As the music started, she was glad that there was no way for him to know that.

“ _Everyone says that it's no big deal,_

_Nothing a little more time won't heal._

_Sooner or later the way I feel will change._

_But they've never hurt the way I do,_

_because they never had to get over you,_

_They've never shared my point of view of pain.”_

Prudence chanced a glance in his direction. He had an odd expression on his face that worried her.

“ _There's only so much a girl can take,_

_Before her reality starts to break,_

_Especially holding an old heartache like you.”_

As the song came to an end, she saw the look of realization come over his handsome face... at least that's what she was afraid it was. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously but she simply turned away.

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _


	2. Cal

Prudence finished her set and was driven back to her suite at the _Charlotte Hilton_. She would be leaving first thing in the morning. She had a two-year-old son and a life waiting for her in her adoptive home of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Sure, she had silenced her critics by performing in her hometown but it had brought back the ghosts from her past that she had been so worried about. She was trying like hell to leave those nightmares in the rear-view mirror.

Prudence hadn't seen Cal Spencer in over six years. One didn't normally stay in touch with their ex's brother. This went double when they had secretly been in love with said brother. When her ex-fiance, Miles, had relapsed back into heroin addiction (he had been six months clean when they first met) and started turning his drug induced rages on her, she had lost all for him. It was at this exact same time that she had fallen in love with Caledon or, Cal, to those closest to him, Miles' younger brother who was still four years older than her.

Cal had been newly released from prison. He had taken the rap for Miles, who already had two strikes on his record, when the two had been pulled over with more than a pound of heroin in the trunk of Miles' car. Even though Miles was a known heroin dealer and Cal had never touched the drug a day in his life, he still been given a sixteen month sentence in prison. A single father at the time of his sentence, he had gone to prison while his eight-month-old son had gone to live with his overbearing parents. He had been released ten months later, paroled for good behavior.

Knowing how controlling their parents were, Prudence and Miles had invited Cal and his son, Shane, to come and live with them in their small rented house in Concord, North Carolina. When Miles' anger would turn violent, Cal would step in to protect her and on the rare occasion when he wasn't around to prevent the violence, he would nurse her back to health and urge her, plead with her really, to leave his brother.

One autumn day in 2010, everything had come to a head for Prudence. Miles was getting worse every day. When she went to her family about the abuse, they thought that she was being overly dramatic. After another fight in which Miles had thrown her around their bedroom before storming out, Prudence finally snapped.

Finding Miles' supply of vicodin hidden in a dresser drawer and without stopping to think her actions through in her hysterical state, she had taken thirty of them.

It had been Cal who had found her and saved her life. Concerned that Prudence hadn't come out of the bedroom, Cal had opened the door and found her barely breathing on the bed. Remembering that Prudence kept an Epipen in her purse due to food allergies, he wisely chose to inject her with it before placing her fully clothed in a cold shower while he called 911. Later, as she recovered in the hospital, the doctor told her that Cal's actions were the only things that had saved her from going into cardiac arrest. That was the day she made up her mind to leave Miles. She had been gifted with a second chance and she wasn't going to waste it.

Dipping into the trust find left to her by her mother, Prudence had checked herself into a rehab program in California for six months. The program wasn't designed to treat substance abuse, it was designed to treat anxiety and depression. Two things she had lived with from birth. She made her first demo while in the program and had a record deal waiting for her when she graduated from it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door of the suite. She opened it to discover the bellhop holding a piece of folded-up paper in his hand. “Ma'am, this was delivered for you down at the front desk. The gentleman who left it claimed to be an old friend.” He handed her the paper.

Grabbing a ten dollar bill out of her purse, she handed it to the bellhop before closing the door. Unfolding the paper, she was shocked to find a scratching, doctor-like handwriting that she recognized.

_***You killed it tonight, Prudence. I've missed you, pretty girl. Call or text me. (704) 555-8388 ***_

It was from Cal.

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) _ **

 


	3. Texts

Prudence knew that she shouldn't text him. That would be opening a can of worms best left sealed, set on fire, and the ashes buried six feet under. But, as was always the case with Cal, she thought with her heart instead of her brain and just couldn't bring herself to not text him. She had missed him so much over the course of the last six years, Shane too. God, the little toddler that she had once cared for would be almost eight now.

Making up her mind, Prudence grabbed her smartphone out of her purse and sent Cal a quick text message.

*****Well, hello there, stranger.*****

He didn't text back right away so she slipped into the large black marble bathroom to take a quick shower and brush her teeth. It was as she was pulling on a pair of pink shorts and a Minnie Mouse tank top that she heard her phone go off in the bedroom. Walking out, she picked her phone up from the bed and smiled at the text message that was waiting for her.

_***Well, hello there, pretty girl.***_

Prudence climbed into bed and got under the covers before replying.

*****So, you've missed me, huh?*****

She grabbed the TV remote off of the nightstand and turned on the flatscreen TV that hung from the wall above the dresser.

_***You know it, beautiful. What are you up to? Chillin' with your son?***_

He'd heard about Oliver, interesting.

*****Ollie's back home in Maine with Ashley.*****

Ashley was Prudence's eighteen-year-old brother. He had lived with her from the age of thirteen on. Sometimes, when she would only be out of town for a day or two, Ashley would look after Oliver. She was really going to miss him when he went away to college in the fall.

_***I heard about how you got him. I'm sorry about Rocky.***_

Her older brother, Rocky, and his wife, Darlene, were Oliver's biological parents. When Oliver was three months old, Darlene had suffered a nervous breakdown and shot Rocky before turning the gun on herself and taking her own life. Not wanting Oliver to end up in the care of her welfare rat father, or worse, in foster care, Prudence had stepped in and adopted him.

*****Thanks, Cal. How's Shane?*****

She wasn't just trying to change the subject. She really had missed the little boy.

_***He's a budding artist. If I don't keep him stocked up on paper, he'll draw on everything else. On a related note, I need a new coffee table. :-( ****_

Prudence laughed and didn't get a chance to reply before another message came through.

_***Are you alone tonight, Prudence?***_

She wondered if Cal knew how creepy that message sounded. She knew he didn't mean it to but it kind of sounded like something a serial killer would ask to make sure there was no around to witness your murder.

*****Yep, what are you up to?*****

He responded quickly this time.

_***Wishing I was with you...***_

Whoa. Wait a minute. Hold the phone. Be kind, rewind. WAS HE FLIRTING WITH HER?!

*****Why would you be wishing for that?*****

His response came quickly again even though his text was so long that it arrived in two separate messages.

_***Because, I haven't been able to get you off my mind in six years, pretty girl. I heard the words of that song you were singing. I think we should talk, sweetheart. I'm downstairs in the lobby. Call security and tell them I can come up.***_

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _


	4. Not Talking

Prudence, against her better judgment, called down to the front desk and told them to allow Cal up.

Even though she was expecting him, she still jumped when she heard his knuckles wrapping on the suite door. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she went and pulled it open.

Fuck. He looked good.

Cal was leaning against the doorframe, wearing his ever-present Levi's, a black t-shirt, and a playful smirk. “Are you gonna let me in, pretty girl, or are we going to have this conversation in the hallway?” he asked with a great deal of humor in his tone. “I mean, it's cool with me but I swear I saw a guy with a camera marked TMZ downstairs...”

There was the smartass that Prudence knew and loved. Cal's easy demeanor immediately reminded her of the old days and set her at ease. Why the hell was she so scared? This was Cal. No matter how this conversation went she knew that he would never do anything to make her uncomfortable or hurt her.

Good naturedly rolling her eyes, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside, kicking the door closed behind her.

Once they were inside and alone, Prudence found herself at a loss for what to say. While she had no clue how to proceed, Cal seemed to have no such problem. Advancing on her, he quickly had her pinned against the wall next to the door, his lips moving hungrily against hers.

For a moment, Prudence let the kiss happen. The smell of his Stetson cologne, the feel of his hands tightly gripping her hips, the taste of cinnamon and menthol cigarettes as his tongue mated with hers... it was all intoxicating but reality soon reared its ugly head.

“No.” Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed him away. “That is NOT talking.”

“I know that, pretty girl,” Cal smirked. “But after so long... it felt pretty damn good.”

Prudence couldn't help but agree with him. She had never been kissed like that before in her life. “Cal,” she sighed and ran a hand through her strawberry blonde curls. “I'm not just going to have a one-night stand with you while I'm in town. I'm not like that... no matter what rumors your brother is spreading this time.” She knew from the grapevine that Miles had been spreading some interesting stories about her virtue since they had broken up.

“Wouldn't know what Miles has to say these days,” Cal shook his head. “We haven't spoken in damn near six years.” He used her surprise at this news to catch her off guard and pull her briskly back into his arms. “And I want more than one night with you, sweetheart.”

“Really?” She looked up to study his face, looking for any sign of deception. She found none.

“Really,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose. “If I have you once... you're mine. That's how it works with me, pretty girl.”

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _

 


	5. Make this Easy for Me

Prudence's mind was a jumble of different thoughts, both good and bad, as she fully extracted herself from Cal's arms and walked to the small sitting room of her suite to take a seat on the white suede couch.

“You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?” Cal followed and stood in front of her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.

“Nothing about this is easy,” Prudence huffed. “Not with my past. This was a whole hell of a lot easier to deal with when I thought that I was the only one feeling anything.”

“Well, you're not.” He took a seat beside her probably a little too close to be considered proper. But, seeing as they had just had their tongues down each others' throats did it really matter at this point in the game?

“How long?” Prudence turned to look at him questioningly.

“Christmas Eve, the year we met,” Cal answered without a missing a beat. “Miles was off on a bender and you were crying so I –”

“Packed me and Shane up in your car and drove us all over Cabbarus County to look at Christmas lights,” Prudence finished for him. She was amazed. They had fallen for each other on the exact same night. “Shane was so little that he thought that any house with white lights was on fire and would start to cry,” she chuckled as she remembered.

Cal smiled warmly at her. “After we drove past that house that looked like Clark Griswald had decorated it, he was hysterical. It was your idea to take him to McDonald's for apple slices and peppermint hot chocolate. A guy dressed like Ronald McDonald was there and your fear of clowns kicked in.”

“You're the one who gave me that fear of clowns by making me watch 'IT'.” She couldn't help but shudder at the thought of Pennywise the Clown.

Cal laughed, “anyway, you were terrified but Shane loved him so you took him up for a picture with the guy anyway. That was the moment, watching you face your fear for the benefit of my son, that I fell in love with you.”

It was time for her to make her own admissions. “You drove us around until both me and Shane passed out. When we got home, you took Shane in first before carrying me to bed. Miles still wasn't home and you knew I'd be upset so you left both of our bedroom doors open so I knew that I wasn't alone. That's when I fell in love with you.”

Cal reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I'm still in love with you,” he told her softly.

“I never stopped loving you,” her voice cracked. “You were right. I sang that song today because it made me think of you.”

“I know we'd be facing an uphill battle if we were together,” his voice was barely above a whisper. “Between my family, both of us having kids and how we met, my eyes are wide open. I still want to try with you, Prudence. Do you want the same thing, baby?”

“Yeah,” she whispered as a single teardrop fell. “I do.”

Cal smiled before leaning forward and sealing their lips together.

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _


	6. Star Wars and Lego Land

They had spent the next couple of hours curled up together on that small little couch, sharing kisses and simply catching up.

“Holy cow, I can't believe how big he got,” Prudence exclaimed as she looked at a picture of little Shane. She was nestled up against his side as they showed each other pictures on their phones. “He's a little clone of you, isn't he?” In the photo, the now almost eight-year-old was proudly holding up a freakishly good drawing of C3PO and R2D2 from _Star Wars_. “That boy has some serious talent.”

“Speaking of little mini-me children.” Cal was holding her phone and looking at a photo of Oliver and Ashley that been taken the previous autumn during their trip to Lego Land in California. “You would think you'd given birth to that kid yourself. I mean you and Rocky looked a scary lot alike but damn, pretty girl.”

Prudence examined the photo of Shane a little closer. She could see palm trees in the large picture window the little boy was standing in front of. “Where was this taken?”

“Oh, that's at my summer place in Kill Devil Hills.”

His summer place? She had achieved celebrity status and even she hadn't splurged on a second home yet. “What exactly do you do now?”

Her surprise must have been evident and Cal chuckled. “You remember how I always used to be scribbling in that notebook back in the day?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. Not long after he had gotten out of prison, Cal bought himself a black leather journal with a metal skull and crossbones on the cover. Whenever he had a free moment, he was scribbling in the thing, always appearing to be lost in thought.

“Well, when I was locked up, I took this writing course the prison offered and shockingly found that I liked it... a lot. I ended up writing this short story about a fictional biker club that was based on this club from my hometown.” Prudence knew the club that he was talking about. They were called the Lucifer's Fallen Motorcycle Club and their clubhouse was located in Cal's native Myrtle Beach. Her late uncle used to ride with the club. “Once I was out, I couldn't get the story out of my head. I turned it into a novel. The novel became an entire series and before I knew it, Blackstar Pictures bought the film rights.”

No freakin' way. “You're S.P. Embers.” S.P. Embers was the author of the Fallen Angels series of books. They focused on the life of fictional biker, Blade Andrews, bar owner by day, conflicted but loyal outlaw by night. They were her favorite books. She couldn't believe that Cal had written them. When she was reading the first book in the series, The Outlaw Protects, she had no way of knowing that she had been in the room when part of it was written.

“Yep.” He kissed her temple before taking her phone and setting it, along with his, on the small coffee table in front of them before moving to wrap her more firmly in his arms. “This convict lucked the hell out,” he laughed.

“Don't call yourself that,” Prudence gently admonished as she snuggled a little closer. It felt weird being this intimate with him after having such restrictive contact with him for so long... and then none at all. “And you didn't get lucky. You worked for that success.” It was no wonder she had so easily fallen in love with the character of Blade Andrews. She was in love with his creator.

Cal gently pushed her back a little so he could once again claim her lips with his own. “Prudence, baby girl, can I have you? I've waited seven years, I can't wait anymore to be with you.”

Completely undone by his words, Prudence could only moan and nod her head. Cal smiled like a hungry wolf before tangling his hand in her hair and crashing his lips to hers.

 

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com)_ **


	7. Doing Him Dirty

A sigh of relief came when her cell phone stopped ringing because Prudence was a damn coward. That was the third time that Cal had called in the last two hours. It was also the third time that she hadn't answered the phone.

“That's freakin' cold, sissy.” Ashley shook his head as he mixed up some weird Nickelodeon slime looking concoction in the blender. The star quarterback for the Cape Elizabeth High School football team his entire four years at the school was trying to stay fit during the summer. He would be playing for the Duke University team in their native North Carolina when he started college in the fall. Straight A student, star athlete, doting uncle, and not too annoying little brother... Prudence was proud of him. Now if she only could convince him to cut his shaggy blond hair and stay the hell out of her business they'd be all set.

“Mind your own business, please,” Prudence replied as she poured Oliver a sippy cup of milk and set it on the kitchen table in front of him. The blond-haired, blue-eyed toddler was eating french toast sticks and was covered in maple syrup. She knew she should have made oatmeal this morning. Now he needed a bath and she was going to be late for the early Mass at church. She had promised Father Rubeus that she would be there this week and now she was going to be stuck going to the late Mass at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church which was held at eleven and always crowded. This was a time of day when Oliver was used to playing on the beach behind their house. It was going to be a nightmare trying to keep him stationary for the service.

“You're my sister and I love you.” Ashley grabbed the blender off of the base and shook it at her to offer her some of his toxic looking slime concoction. She firmly shook her head in the negative. “That makes it my business when you're doing something stupid that will only be bad for you in the long run. Cal's a good dude and he loves you. You're doing him dirty and you're making yourself completely miserable in the process. I'm not going to keep my mouth shut. You raised me better than that.”

Prudence couldn't take her brother's advice seriously. When he said things like 'dude' and 'doing him dirty', she just couldn't. He sounded ridiculous.

You are probably wondering what the hell happened after that night in Charlotte. Well, after she and Cal had confessed to loving and wanting to be together they had fallen into bed together. They had enjoyed the single most enjoyable sexual experience of Prudence's life. Then the morning came and with it all of her fears and anxiety. She had slipped out of the hotel bed before Cal awoke and left without a word. He had been calling her constantly for the past two weeks but she hadn't answered a single call. Oliver accidentally had while playing a game on her phone but he had also quickly hung up as well. Knowing she could blame it on her kid, Prudence hadn't felt too guilty about not calling him back to at least apologize for the hang up if nothing else.

“Mommy, I'm done,” Oliver announced from the table. “I needs a wipey.”

Prudence turned around from pouring herself a cup of coffee and her eyes just about popped out of her head. He was now doubly covered in syrup. A little was matted in his bangs, his face was covered and his hands were so coated that he had left perfect sticky handprints around the side of his sippy cup. If maple syrup was a race her son could check it off on his consensus form. “No, baby,” she chuckled. “You need a hose but we're gonna have to settle for a bath.”

Not really understanding what she was saying beyond hearing his favorite word, 'bath', little Oliver simply giggled before hopping down out of his chair and running from the room.

“You know he's going to be completely nude by the time you meet him at the stairs, right?” Ashley laughed.

“Yeah, I know the drill.” The minute he knew that he was getting a bath, Oliver began stripping off his clothes no matter where he was (he once attempted to strip at a Denny's restaurant when he heard her say he was getting a bath when they got home) and then would go and wait patiently (most of the time) at the safety gate that blocked his access to the stairs for her or Ashley to take him upstairs for his bath. “Please be ready for church when I'm done bathing him.”

“If I convert to atheism can I skip Mass?” Ashley asked before taking a sip of his slime and grimacing.

Prudence set her barely touched cup of coffee in the sink. “I'm going to bathe the Log Cabin sticky monster. You're going to get ready for church and look up what being an atheist means. You don't convert to anything. You just stop believing in God and an afterlife, you heathen.” She playfully smacked him upside the head.

“MOMMY! BATH!” Oliver yelled from the direction of the stairs.


	8. The Rabbit Died

**ONE MONTH LATER**

This could not be happening. The thin plastic stick sitting on the edge of her claw foot tub had to be lying. All three of them had to be. There was no way that she was pregnant. The doctors had all but assured her of that. She had briefly attempted to conceive with Miles, going so far as to receive fertility treatments but nothing had ever happened and the doctors could offer no good explanation why.

Fuck. She was going to have to call Cal when he had just gotten the hint to stop calling two weeks earlier.

Taking a deep, calming breath so that she wouldn't get ill, as she'd been prone to be at random times the last few weeks, Prudence got to her feet from where she was seated on the toilet lid. Looking out the bathroom window, she saw Oliver building a sand castle on the beach while her vain as hell little brother sunbathed next to him. She couldn't help but giggle when the mischievous child dumped a plastic shovel full of sand on his unsuspecting uncle, making the teenager quickly jump to his feet in shock.

The only thing Prudence regretted about having Oliver was the way in which he had come into her life, through the death of her big brother. The only thing she regretted about taking in Ashley was that he was too young to really remember their late mother and had been just as damaged by their father's mind games and straight up neglect as she had been in her youth. Having kids around made life fun. Holidays were more magical when you got to watch the joy and excitement on your child's face. Rainy days were more enjoyable when you had a cute and cuddly toddler to cuddle up and watch cartoons with. Even when they were naughty it was hard to be mad and not laugh sometimes. Like the time Oliver had thrown her cell phone in the bathtub and exclaimed in legitimate dismay, “mommy, it no swim.” When she was a little girl she had always dreamed of having a houseful of children but she had long since given up on that dream. She wasn't unhappy about having another child. She was just disappointed that her cowardice and bad life choices meant that the baby she now carried was being born to a mother and father who lived in two separate states and whose relationship was bound to be awkward as hell. She had totally screwed the kid out of a full-time father. What was worse was the fact that Cal was an amazing dad. She had witnessed it first hand. His world revolved around little Shane. He'd die for that boy.

Before she made any hasty phone calls down to Dixie, she called and was able to get a same-day appointment at her doctor's office in nearby Portland. By the time she was finished with her call, the boys were back inside. While Oliver sat in the living room playing with his G.I. Joe action figures, she pulled Ashley into the connected laundry room to talk.

“I need you to keep an eye on Ollie for a few hours this afternoon.”

“I had plans with Izzy this afternoon.” Izzy had been his girlfriend since his junior year of high school and was even following him to Duke in September. “Where do you have to be anyway? You promised me you were taking this summer off. It's my last summer before college.”

He was worried that she was meeting with her manager in Portland to set up tour dates or a recording trip to Nashville. If the doctor confirmed what the three EPT tests had already told her, she would be taking a hell of a lot more time off than just the summer. She'd be out of the public eye for a few years at least. He didn't have to worry. With two kids under the age of four, Ashley away at school, and her general dislike of the idea of nannies helping to raise her kids, touring and flying back and forth to Nashville would be impossible. It was a good thing that she had made very good money during her short career and she had invested wisely. Besides the house she lived in, her next biggest splurge was paying Ashley's college tuition.

“It's not work,” Prudence shook her head. “I have a doctor's appointment.”

“Why? What's wrong?” Ashley was suddenly concerned.

“The rabbit died.”

“We don't have a rabbit.” Ashley's concern was replaced with confusion. “Sissy, what the hell's going on?”

“I'll tell you when I'm sure,” Prudence said and ran a hand through her hair.

 


	9. Up a Clocktower

Double fuck. The tests were correct. She was pregnant. With Cal's baby. She had to tell him.   
  
On her way home she stopped in at Leonardo's Pizza to pick up a Molly's Chicken Mushroom Carbonara pizza, Ashley and Izzy's favorite as a thank you to Ashley for looking after Oliver. While she waited on her pie, she called Izzy and asked if she wanted to come over for dinner. When the teenager replied in the affirmative she made plans to pick her up on her way home. Pizza, her Netflix password, and his girlfriend would keep her brother busy for the rest of the night. There was the added bonus that Ashley's general fondness for his nephew plus the fact that Izzy thought Oliver was adorable meant that the teenagers didn't mind the toddler hanging out with them. This would give her time to make a phone call that she didn't want to make.   
  
“Pru, are you okay?” Izzy asked from the passenger seat as Prudence pulled into her driveway.   
  
Prudence put on a happy smile and turned to look at the pretty black girl in the passenger seat. “Yeah, hun, I'm fine. Why?”   
  
Izzy tucked one of her dreadlocks behind her ear. “You normally talk my ear off or at least sing along to the radio. You've been pretty quiet since you picked me up. I was worried you were mad at me for something.”   
  
“Oh, no, sweetie,” Prudence shook her head as she killed the engine. “You haven't done anything...have you? I don't need to be mad at you and Ashley for anything, right?” She joked to lighten the mood.   
  
“No,” Izzy laughed. “I promise we're not planning to run off to Vegas and I'm not pregnant.”   
  
Nope. The teenager wasn't the irresponsible one who'd had unprotected sex and gotten pregnant out of wedlock. That was the adult in the vehicle.   
  
“Good,” Prudence forced out a laugh. “Not that I'm opposed to having you as my sister-in-law but at least wait until after college...when Ashley isn't living with me.”   
  
“Deal,” Izzy agreed. “You sure you're okay? Ashley told me about you and that Carl guy.”   
  
“Cal,” she automatically corrected. “My little brother really does tell you everything doesn't he?”   
  
“He didn't use to,” Izzy shook her head. “We just figured out over time that we fought less and were happier that more honest we were with each other. I obviously have other friends but Ashley's my best friend.”   
  
Sweet lord. She should probably be taking relationship counseling from Ashley and Izzy. Wo kids barely old enough to vote seemed to have a firm grasp on how to conduct a healthy relationship while she had no clue.   
  
“I actually planned on calling Cal tonight,” Prudence admitted. She just left out why. “Do you think you and Ashley could keep an eye on Oliver while I do? I'll give you fifty bucks.”   
  
“You don't have to pay me,” Izzy turned and looked at her like she was being ridiculous. “I've known you since I was fourteen. Oliver's pretty much my nephew. But, if you really want to thank me, if everything goes alright with your phone call, the next time you see Cal, get him to sign my copy of 'The Outlaw's Drug.' Ashley also told me that Cal's S.P. Embers real name. I've been in love with the Fallen Angels series since middle school.”   
  
Prudence could see no way of her phone call to Cal going 'alright' but she still agreed. If they shared a child there was no way she could avoid seeing Cal. Getting the book signed should be no problem at all.   
  
“What are you ladies doing sitting out here? Oh! Do I smell Leonardo's?” Ashley appeared at Prudence's window and was now sniffing at the air like a bloodhound.   
  
“Yes, you smell Leonardo's. And we are talking, being each other's therapists.”   
  
Ashley shook his head with an overly dramatic frown. “I've told you two before, two crazy chicks can't be each other's therapists. That ends up a clock tower with an assault rifle.”   
  
“That's really not a funny joke anymore, Ash,” Prudence pushed him out of the way with her car door.   
  
“I'll smack him,” Izzy assured her as she opened her door. “Ash, we're looking after Ollie tonight.” The self-assured teenager didn't ask, she told her longtime boyfriend what they were doing.   
  
“That's my girl,” Prudence smirked. Her brother needed someone who could rein in his wilder side from time-to-time.   
  
“Okay,” Ashley shrugged, simply going with it. “As long as I get pizza, I'm cool.”   
  
Typical teenage boy. 


	10. The Rugrats in Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the Rugrats. I wish I did. The Rugrats are love and the best cartoon from my childhood.

“Alright, Ollie, Mommy has a phone call to make. You stay here with Uncle Ashley and Izzy, okay?” Prudence got to her feet from the sofa after she had managed to chock down a slice of pizza and a glass of milk, all for her baby's benefit. If she hadn't have been eating for two she would have forgone dinner altogether because not only was she feeling sick but she was also feeling like a billion butterflies were having a no-holds-bar, MMA fight in her stomach. She was seriously concerned she might vomit.

“Come here, boo,” Izzy pulled a pajama-clad Oliver to sit next to her on the couch. “Netflix has a movie from when me and Uncle Ashley were your age. You'll like it.” She grabbed the remote and pressed play on The Rugrats in Paris.

“Who are you calling?” Ashley asked curiously as he wrapped his arm around Izzy's shoulders. With Oliver curled up on Izzy's side sucking on his sippy cup, it was a scene that would normally have had Prudence running for her camera but not today.

“I'm calling Cal. Me and him have something to talk about,” Prudence told him the short version of the truth.

“About damn time,” Ashley snorted.

Izzy smacked his thigh. “Kid in the room,” she admonished. “I'll put Ollie to bed for you, Pru,” she assured Prudence with a smile.

_“I can't believe Angelica saw that movie last night.”_ Oliver was already engrossed in the antics of the animated babies.

_“She only saw a scene or two. It couldn't have made an impression.”_

A baby on the TV screen held up a wooden rocking horse's head. _“Uh, Bobfather, we founded this in our crib.”_

Prudence was actually able to chuckle at the pop culture reference that had obviously been slipped in for the adult viewers as she dropped a kiss to Oliver's cheek and told him she loved him.

“Thanks again, Izzy. My brother does not deserve you, babe,” she told her brother's girlfriend as she grabbed her phone off of the coffee table.

“I know,” Izzy nodded and smiled.

“I'm sitting right here, ladies,” Ashley reminded them with a huff.

“We know,” Prudence playfully winked at him. “Put the leftover pizza in the fridge before you go to bed, please.”

Once Prudence was alone in her bedroom her facade of happiness faded away as the anxiety very early overtook her. She changed into her favorite pair of sweats before climbing in bed with her phone in her hand. She stared at it for a good five minutes before she finally pulled up Cal's phone number. She stared at that for another minute or two before hitting the call button.

It felt like it took forever before the call finally connected and for a moment she was worried that Cal was now so pissed that he wouldn't answer but eventually he picked up. “Do we know each other?” He might have answered but he was most definitely still pissed off. His tone left no doubt.

“Cal, we really need to talk.”


	11. Cilice & Garden City

Prudence sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. This conversation was on her want-to-do list right below wearing a cilice for self-mortification. “Cal, I know you're pissed and I completely understand why. I've been acting like a cold-hearted coward. I'm not asking you to forgive me, I'm just asking that you listen to me because what I'm about to tell you is really important.” She took a chance and didn't beat around the bush. This situation called for blunt honesty.

“Alright, you've got my attention. Talk.”

“I'm pregnant.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the line before a tick or two of stunned silence. “Miles told me that you couldn't get pregnant.” His tone was flat and Prudence wasn't able to gauge his reaction.

Oh, for the love of – had nothing in that relationship been sacred?

“Yeah, that's what I used to think. Apparently, I'm only capable of getting pregnant when I'm not trying.” Maybe some light humor would help the conversation's tension ease up a bit.

“Maybe one of these days one of us will have a kid on purpose.” Cal actually chuckled before his tone returned to serious. “What are we going to about this, pretty girl? How do you wanna deal with this?”

“Deal with this? What does that mean?” Her guard went up higher than Charlie Sheen. If he thought that being nice and using his pet name for her was going to talk her into getting an abortion, he was in for a rude friggin' awakening.

“I didn't mean for that to come out the way that it sounded. That's NOT what I was suggesting,” Cal rushed to assure her. “We're both about to be parents times two. I want to be in that kid's life even if you don't want me in yours. How do I make that happen?”

Prudence really should have expected nothing less from Cal. “I want you in this baby's life too.” If she would just be honest with herself she'd admit that she wanted him in her life too but it appeared that she was permanently emotionally stunted. “I've never had to parent with another person before. I'm open to suggestions.” Or a detailed playbook...

“I'm about to head to Garden City with Shane for the summer,” Cal informed her. “Why don't you pack up Ashley and Oliver and come and join us for a few weeks? We can work everything out then.”

“Would you mind if Ashley's girlfriend came along? I really don't see one coming without the other.” Izzy's presence would also serve as a nice feminine buffer in what was bound to be a very uncomfortable situation.

“The more the merrier, pretty girl.” Maybe Cal was thinking the same thing. “Why don't you talk to the kids and make whatever plans you need to make. Don't worry about the travel arrangements. I've got those covered. Call me back when you know what's going on.”

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The song, Whatever Comes First, is copyright © Sons of the Desert. I am just quoting. I make no claims of ownership.


End file.
